


The way you hide is so familiar

by cisquexlily



Series: All butterflies have broken wings [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (?), Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Neglect, It's pretty dark, almost, and the way it influences Tony later in his life, apologies from a clueless european, for example recognising an abused/neglected kid almost immediately, gl finding it if youre not very familiar with the series, im not projecting or anything i swear, kind of a prequel, most especially in the americas, shitty parents, so small it's barely there, teeny tiny daredevil cameo, this is almost an origin story, warning: i have no idea how adopting/fostering works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15357252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cisquexlily/pseuds/cisquexlily
Summary: The series of events that lead to Tony fostering - and later adopting - Riley.[May be read as a stand alone]





	The way you hide is so familiar

        Tony would have rather been anywhere but at the fundraising event, even if he was the host. Unfortunately, he had missed so many other events that Pepper put her foot down and demanded that he attend this one. He wanted to stay at the compound and watch a stupid movie with Peter, or spend time thinking of unnecessary upgrades for, well, anything. Instead, he was forced to meet hundreds of people whose names he would forget in an instant.

 

        He had just escaped the clutches of a reporter to get another drink from the bar when somebody called out his name. With a sigh, he took his drink and found himself turning towards the man that spoke, despite wanting with all of his being to ignore him and leave. The man was grinning widely and, to Tony, it seemed entirely insincere. 

 

        “Mr Stark, it’s such an honour to meet you here tonight! Myself and my associates-” Tony drowned out his voice as best as he could. Would he ever catch a break from this tonight? He let his eyes wander briefly and saw a young girl, half-hidden behind the form of the man talking to him, with her hands clasped neatly in front of her, a perfectly straight back and a blank expression. She briefly made eye contact with him but quickly looked away to stare forwards - her posture never faltering. Tony frowned and shifted uncomfortably. Something about the way the girl held herself caused a spark of recognition in his mind that he couldn't quite identify. 

 

        “Of course, of course,” Tony dismissed, presenting a forced smile to the man. “Who’s this?” He gestured vaguely to the girl.

 

        “Oh, this is my daughter, Riley. Riley, say hello to Mr Stark.” He prompted the girl, as if she was ten years younger than she truly was. Nevertheless, Riley stepped forward with a perfect smile and a graceful form.

 

        “Hello, Mr Stark,” She parroted, smile intact. “It’s very nice to meet you.” The girl very lightly shook his hand, then stepped back as her father continued to speak.

 

        Tony entertained the man, whose name he struggled to remember, for the sake of observing the girl - Riley. Something was so oddly familiar about the girl that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He pondered over it until the man moved on, his daughter dutifully trailing behind him. Perhaps he had seen them at another event. He shook it off.

 

-:-:-:-:-:-

 

        “Hey, Friday?” Tony called out. It was the day after the fundraiser, and his curiosity about the girl had returned. “Search the guest list from last night’s fundraiser for the name Riley.”

 

        “There is one match, boss. A Riley Clarke.”

 

        “Show me anything odd or illegal associated with her, her immediate family and her father’s company. Include all hospital records.”

 

        A small number of documents appeared on the screen in front of him. He removed a report about injuries within the company and a few hospital records of her mother’s - she and another patient were a part of a car accident - and ended up with two other documents, both hospital records. The first was about a broken arm Riley suffered from almost a decade ago, that seemed to contain nothing out of the ordinary. The second detailed one of Riley’s visits from just a few months ago, the girl being malnourished and peppered with bruises in varied stages of healing. Tony read the document several times with a frown, before saving it on his private server.

 

        “Fri, contact Richard Clarke’s company. Set up a meeting within the next few days.”

 

-:-:-:-:-:-

 

        Richard Clarke really had no idea how to run his company. His father had inherited it from his own father, who had created it. He, too, inherited the company but he relied on several other, more capable people to run it while he took the credit. So when Tony Stark himself requested a meeting he gathered the group of people who truly ran his company and waited for him to arrive.

 

        Tony strolled in and took one glance at the extra people before declaring, “No.”

 

        Richard blinked in confusion. “Sorry?”

 

        “There’s no need for all of your friends, Richard.” Tony smiled, albeit falsely. “This is just between us, between me and you. Go on.” He ushered the three extra people out the door, who left with confusion and annoyance. Tony shut the door behind them. “Much better.”

 

        Richard cleared his throat and gathered his wits. “Well, Mr Stark? What is it that you would like to discuss?”

 

        “Don’t you worry, this won’t take long.” Tony sat to the left of the man and pulled out a slightly crumpled sheet of paper. “At least, this part won’t.”

 

        Richard read the hospital record that had been placed in front of him, frowning. “How did you get this? These records aren’t public.”

 

        “To put it simply, I do what I want. That’s not what I’m here to talk about, Richard. I’d like to know why your daughter arrived alone, bruised, bloody, and malnourished at a hospital seeking help. This doesn’t seem right, does it? Most especially since she refused to tell anyone what happened to her. Suspicious, don’t you think?” There was a venomous undertone to the casual way Tony spoke.

 

        “What are you implying?” The man’s tone was slow and careful. His face had paled considerably.

 

        “I’m implying a lot of things, Mr Clarke. Mostly that you actively neglect and abuse your only child, alongside your wife. Which is a real shame, she seems like a lovely woman.”

 

        “You have no proof,” Richard defended, unnerved.

 

        “Really? Your neighbours aren’t very fond of you, you know. They favour your daughter over you, they told me themselves. I don’t think they will withhold anything unusual about your behaviour towards your daughter, certainly not to the police.” Tony stood, absently checking his watch. “In fact, they should be done talking to them by now.”

 

        The man grew paler, if possible.

 

        “Apparently you didn’t think anyone would notice if you didn’t let her outside when she had visible marks. The thing is, abuse tends to leave an imprint on someone’s behaviour you can’t hide all that well.”

 

        And Tony walked out of the room.

 

-:-:-:-:-:-

                

        Riley could barely believe it when a numerous group of policemen arrived at her house to arrest her mother. She believed it even less when they informed her that her father had also been arrested and escorted to the station.

 

        She sat, astonished as she waited for a social worker to arrive. A kind officer named Brett had sat beside her to catch her up and tell her what would happen next. She was to wait for her social worker and talk to them, then she would be asked to make a statement on her parents’ treatment. What happened afterwards was up to the social worker.

 

        Brett had also asked whether she had any injuries that needed to be treated - to which she shook her head no - before he left her to absorb the situation. When the social worker arrives she was a little less shaken and listened to the woman introduce herself in a gentle, calming voice.

 

        It infuriated her.

 

        Nonetheless, she listened to her - Carla - explain essentially what Brett had to her, but in her annoyingly soft voice.

 

        “What happens after you give your statement is your decision.”

 

        “What do you mean?” Riley asked her.

 

        “Well, just after we were informed about your parents a man offered to foster you. He has already adopted another boy who only sings praises about him. Whether or not you want to enter the fostering process so soon is your choice, but whichever option you choose will be what happens,” Carla explained.

 

        Riley mulled this over. Did she want to be fostered and possibly adopted into a new family so soon? Was she ready to uproot herself from her old life and dive head first into a new one without stopping to consider the other options?

 

        "What’s his name?”

 

-:-:-:-:-:-

 

        Giving her statement was less simple as it seemed. She had to give immense detail about anything and everything that her parents did to her that she even thought may have been incriminating. Simply throwing these things out there for the two officers to hear was surprisingly difficult when she had hidden all of it for her entire life. They understood, though, and gave her time to gather her words.

 

        Riley must have spent several hours detailing her suffering because the sky had darkened significantly since she entered the station. She shouldered her backpack with a few days worth of clothes packed and wandered around looking for Carla.

 

        She found her in a secluded corner talking to a dark haired man who Riley instantly recognised. She didn’t believe it when Carla had told her that Tony Stark, of all people, had offered to foster her, but her proof stood before her, talking to her social worker. Carla noticed her, smiled gently and beckoned her over.

 

        “Riley, this is Tony Stark,” Carla said with her - surely forced - smile intact.

 

        “Hi,” Riley greeted lamely. She didn’t pay attention to the formalities as she did when she first met the man, mostly because she was exhausted but also because she no longer had to.

 

        “Hey, kid. You ready to go?”

 

        Tony’s driving was slightly reckless, but she was sure it was subdued compared to his usual speed. The first half of the drive was spent in silence as they slowly moved further away from the buzz of the city.

 

        “Did you know?” Riley asked suddenly.

 

        “Know what?” Tony smoothly returned.

 

        “About my parents.” The girl paused. “How they treated me. When we first met.”

 

        “Not exactly. I had a feeling, but nothing to prove it.” There was a long pause. “I found a record for one of your hospital visits from a few months ago. When you walked in bruised and a little bloody with no explanation. I figured it out from there.”

 

        She frowned. “Were you the one to tell the police?”

 

        Tony made a sound of affirmation, and Riley fell into silence. It was a long time before she spoke again.

 

        “Tony?”

 

        “Yeah?”

 

        “Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what happens with a kid when both parents are arrested and the internet did not help, so here's my most accurate guess on that. Also, there's a teeny tiny Daredevil cameo in here, well done if you spotted it!


End file.
